


Tear me to Pieces

by Christarmewn



Series: Jirachi's Twin | BONUS STORIES (btyu & others ♥) [3]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Angst and Feels, Comfort/Angst, Conflict Resolution, Crying, F/M, Hugging, In Denial, Neither have realized their feelings yet, Unrequited Crush, bad memories, pair of idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28694718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Christarmewn/pseuds/Christarmewn
Summary: Bede invites Gloria to watch the Galarian fishing tournament with him. Despite it being a strange request, Gloria shows up at the Giant's Seat, and they both watch the tournament together on the incline. While sitting, Bede decides now is a good time to finally get to the bottom of why Hop is still refusing to apologize to Gloria since their argument at the Star Tournament.
Relationships: Beet | Bede & Yuuri | Gloria, Beet | Bede/Yuuri | Gloria
Series: Jirachi's Twin | BONUS STORIES (btyu & others ♥) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2095947
Kudos: 10





	Tear me to Pieces

Jirachi's Twin Timeline: (Present → Past)

  * **Jirachi's Twin Main Story**
  * Thanksgiving SP | You Are Precious
  * Charm and Intellect
  * Tear me to Pieces _(you are here)_
  * **Consider a Friend**
    * Christmas SP | Breaking the Ice (between pt. 1 & 2) 



*Bold is a crucial chapter, indented bullet is nested within above chapter, italics is current location

* * *

He thought for a moment he’d imagined her voice behind him, but he was wrong. As he looked over the pages of his book, he saw her eyes staring quietly back at him from across the field.

“I’m surprised you actually came.”

He closed his book and stretched his arms for a moment.

“What? Why wouldn’t I? I’m not heartless you know…” she sighed, taking a seat a few steps away from him.

He’d asked her to come out to the Giant’s Seat a few days prior. Frankly, he didn’t have much of a reason to, but it was forecasted to be a nice day, and happening just below their feet was the semi-annual Galarian fishing tournament. Bede often enjoyed watching large groups of people from a distance. He liked to imagine the lives of the individuals as they wandered around below him. He figured Gloria was the same way, since he so often noticed her staring off in the direction of large crowds.

That, and he wanted to talk to her about something that had been on his mind.

“So, what’d you want to see me about?” she asked, glancing at the cover of Bede’s book.

He shrugged, “Well, the fishing tourney’s going on right now. I thought you’d be interested in watching it.”

She smirked at him, “Wow Bede. You might be the only person I know who watches a _fishing_ tourney of all things.”

He glared annoyedly at her, “Am I now?”

She glanced around the Giant’s Seat, “Do _you_ see anyone else with us watching?”

“Hmph. Well if you’re already bored, you shouldn’t have come.”

She waved her hands dismissively, “No, no, I’m staying!” she grinned, “It’s rare enough for you to say hi to me in the halls—of course I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to become a closer friend.”

“Still trying hard at that, I see…” acknowledging her recent desperate attempts to befriend him.

“Althooough…” she glanced sideways at him, and immediately he recognized what she was about to do.

Though he didn’t know specifically what she was going to say, Bede was well-acquainted with what that certain, annoying stare and drawling tone of her voice meant. She was words away from teasing him again.

“If it’s just the two of us here, some people might mistake this as a _date._ ”

“Tch…” he rolled his eyes, turning off to the left to avoid confronting her face, “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t see you that way.”

She giggled obnoxiously at him, “I know, I know.”

The two of them were quiet for a few moments as they watched the competition down below. One trainer yanked a massive Barraskewda out of the water as they were watching, and Gloria clapped politely at the impressive feat.

“That’s one big fish,” she commented gleefully, “I remember when I caught one of those. It was chasing me around in the water while I was biking across lake Axewell.” she paused for a moment, recalling the memory fondly, “Then afterwards my Pokémon helped set up camp, and I made sushi out of it. Those were good times…”

As she remembered it, the smile on her face slowly fell away.

“Hop was there with me. We did everything together back then.”

He watched as her eyebrows began to knit together, the light in her eyes disappearing. He turned back to watch the people again, and the quiet atmosphere returned—though heavier than before.

“Speaking of dates, Bede,” Gloria said suddenly, forgetting her own moment of nostalgia, “I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

“What is it?”

“Well…” she glanced at him, “You’ve got a lot of female fans, you know. Have any of them confessed to you?”

He raised an eyebrow, “Confessed _what_ to me?”

“You know… their feelings.”

“As in: if they _like_ me?”

She nodded, and he thought for a moment.

“Well, yeah a few. But I mean I’ve never accepted any of them.”

Surprised, she looked up at him, “Why not?”

 _Why are you even asking me this?_ he shrugged, “I don’t know them. Why should I feel obligated to date someone I don’t even know?”

Gloria stared in disbelief at him for a few moments before sighing, “That’s such a _you_ response… then does that mean you’ve never _liked_ anyone either?”

He paused, “No I suppose not.”

“Hmm…” she mumbled, and then fell silent again.

 _Honestly… what’s up with her today? Does she—_ he jolted at the idea, _She doesn’t have feelings for me, does she!? Because I’m really not sure I can handle that right now._

“What?” he finally pestered, worried he was right, “Is there something on your mind, Gloria?”

She paused, “Yeah, actually.”

He sighed, “Let me guess… you like someone?”

She glanced at him, then smiled, “That obvious, huh? Yeah… there’s someone I like.”

His heart suddenly skipped at the confirmation, _Dear Arceus—I hope it’s not me…_

“Who is it then?”

She glanced up at the sky overhead, “It… it was Hop.”

For some reason, the sound of Hop’s name caused the thrumming of his heart to sink.

 _Of course it’s Hop,_ he realized, shocked he hadn’t already known, _Who else could it be?_ then he hesitated and recalled her words again, _Wait… it_ was _Hop?_

“What do you mean by _was?_ ”

Her eyes flitted to the side quietly, “Well… you know about what happened between the two of us. Ever since then, things have been sort of… _off._ ”

Bede nodded slowly, “I’m aware…”

Gloria paused, “I’m just so…” she shook her head, “I’m so conflicted now. I mean—I feel like I really had feelings for him, but ever since our argument he’s been so distant. I don’t know what to do—he just doesn’t talk to me anymore so I can’t even try and apologize.”

“How strange,” Bede mused thoughtfully, “It doesn’t seem very like him to push you away like this. Weren’t you two childhood friends or something?”

“More or less…”

He hesitated, thinking about her words, _That’s right. Before coming here, I wanted to ask her how things were going between the two of them. Seems like they still haven’t made any progress… I wonder why Hop’s being so stubborn?_

“Why exactly is he mad at you, anyway?”

She stiffened, staring down at the fishing participants on Lake Miloch, “It’s a long story, but basically…” she placed a hand under her chin, “It’s because we haven’t spoken in so long. Lately I’ve just been so busy with work as the champion, I haven’t really been able to contact him. He kept texting me every month, but I was never available. Eventually the texts sorta just stopped, and next thing I know, he’s shouting at me at the Star Tournament.”

“You weren’t answering his texts?”

“I’ve been busy—it’s not like I was avoiding him.”

He noticed a particularly offended look about her gaze. There was something about the way she stared at him that was off-putting—as if she felt the need to defend herself for something Bede hadn’t accused her of.

_I can tell she’s lying about something. If nothing were her fault, Hop would’ve apologized by now._

“I never said you _were_ avoiding him, Gloria.”

Her mouth opened the tiniest bit in realization, and she quickly turned away from him.

_Strange._

“Can I read the conversations you two had on your phone?”

She blinked surprisedly for a moment, “Why?”

“I want to check something.”

Reluctantly, she handed her phone over to him, and he pulled up the history of Gloria and Hop’s texts. He stopped scrolling up once he’d gotten about to the date of Gloria becoming champion, and began to read.

**Monday, Sept 14 10:33 AM**

**Hey mate! i just found something amazing about pokémon natures—do you want to come over?**

**I think it’ll totally rock your battle style if you look into it!**

**That sounds cool, I’ll come check it out!** 👍

**Thursday, Sept 24 11:42 AM**

**Look! i found the answer to your question!**

Posted was a link to an article about mints changing Pokémon’s natures.

**Pretty amazing, right? i hear you can find these things on the isle of armor.**

**Woah yeah that’s cool!**

**Already found the mints tho lol**

**They’re on one of the back islands.**

**What? no way… you already knew about those too, huh?**

**Seems like I can’t surprise you at all these days.** **😂**

**Tell me your findings if you use them!**

**Already have. I used modest mints for Guii like two months ago haha**

**Oh cool**

**You should tell me about that next time we meet!**

**Tuesday, Sept 29 3:12 PM**

**Hey wanna come over again today?**

**I want to see the effects of the mint on Guii!**

**I’d love to Hop, but I’m super busy with meetings today.**

**Sorry…** **🙏**

**Naw it’s okay mate**

**Just come another time is all!**

**Friday, Oct 9 11:14 PM**

**Hey bud leon’s havin a party tomorrow night at 8**

**You interested in coming?** **🥳**

 **Shoot Hop, you should’ve told me sooner** **😔**

**I’m so sorry but I’m really busy**

**What? noooo! that sucks…**

**We can always postpone it tho**

**Want to do it next week instead?**

**No don’t worry about me, it’s fine! Just have fun Hop**

**Okay…**

**Wednesday, Oct 21 1:56 PM**

**Hey it’s been a while since we’ve met up.**

**Want to do something?**

**Sorry not today.**

**My schedule’s open, but this is like the one day I have off this week**

**Oh**

**That’s chill. Maybe another time then** **😃**

**Thursday, Nov 12 9:23 AM**

**So… are you still busy?**

**I found something cool I kinda want to show you.**

**No I’m busy. Sorry**

**Okay that’s fine.**

**Monday, Nov 16 11:27 PM**

**Hey mate you excited for the Star Tournament tomorrow?**

**Yeah! Sounds totally fun** **😊**

**We should do something to celebrate afterwards!**

**Read 11:33 PM**

**Tuesday, Nov 18 10:18 PM**

**Hop are you there?**

**Hop I’m so sorry please pick up**

**Please I was wrong Hop I didn’t mean what I said**

**I’m so so so sorry**

**Read 10:22 PM**

**Friday, Nov 20 11:44 AM**

**Can we talk?**

**Read 1:40 PM**

Since then, there were no more messages exchanged between them.

Gloria looked away silently as he read the texts.

“Find anything?” she mumbled quietly.

He glanced at her, then looked back at the messages, _She tried to deny it, but she was obviously brushing Hop off in these texts. She even openly admitted once that she wasn’t busy, yet she still refused to visit him._

“Yes,” he nodded, looking up at her, “I did find something.” then he lowered his voice and handed her back her phone, “You lied to me.”

Her skin instantly went pale upon him saying those words.

“I… what?”

“You said you weren’t avoiding him, but it’s clear you were. You even made an excuse on a day off.”

She stiffened, “I—that was…”

“Hop seemed so excited to share things with you. Why on earth would you suddenly stop visiting him?”

Gloria’s eyes lowered, and she bit her lip, “I just…” her eyes shut slowly and finally she let out a short laugh, “Alright… you got me…” she opened her eyes again, surprising him with how cold her gaze had become, “The truth is, I just got tired of him always pattering on about his research. It’s hard to pretend I’m interested for hours on end, when he keeps on telling me about things I already know,” she looked away, “And I guess he noticed…”

“You should’ve told me sooner.”

There was a tense pause as their gazes landed back on the lake.

“Bede?” she suddenly whispered, fiddling with a split-end in her hair.

“What?”

“Do you think… you can tell me why Hop won’t forgive me? I know he’s mad, but for some reason it doesn’t matter what I say—he just won’t listen to my apology…” she paused, “I want to be friends again.”

Bede thought about it for a moment. Though he’d initially come here to relax, a portion of him was very curious about Gloria’s history with Hop. The two were very close—far closer than he was with her, so it was a huge mystery why he suddenly couldn’t forgive her.

 _Something tells me the root of this problem is deeper than I initially thought…_ he glanced at Gloria as she continued to fiddle with her hair.

“Alright. I’ll figure it out.”

She turned up to him, “You will?”

“Sure,” he sat up, stretching his arms again as he eyed her, “But no matter how much it hurts, you have to listen to what I say, alright?”

She hesitated at first, then nodded carefully, “I’m willing to do what it takes to reconcile. Even if it hurts.”

“Good.” he shifted in his spot so he was directly facing her, “Then can you tell me again why you think Hop is upset with you?”

She shifted uncomfortably for a moment, “I figured he was upset because I became Champion. After all, it was his dream…”

Bede paused, “Are you sure that’s the reason?”

“Is it not…?”

“Well the more I think about it, the stranger it is. I mean… if Hop was just mad at you for being champion, I’m sure he’d be over it by now,” he looked up, “Could you tell me… what he said to you that day?”

She sucked in a sudden sharp breath, then nodded stiffly, “I guess…” crossing her arms stiffly, she began to recount parts of their argument in detail, “Other than the fact that I ignored him for a bit, he was upset about my natural talent… I know a lot more than him about battling, and it got really frustrating for him to deal with I guess.”

“Come to think about it, I noticed that too. You’ve always had a certain talent with Pokémon. Did you go to a school?”

The question made her face pale, “I’d rather not go into detail about that yet.”

After hearing the coldness of her voice, Bede decided to back off of the question. It was somewhat irrelevant, anyways.

“Well, getting to the point, I think I remember some of what Hop said. You didn’t see me then, but I was standing in the adjacent hallway, listening around the corner at the time…”

Her gaze tore off the grass and she immediately uncrossed her arms, “You what?”

Bede winced, “It… wasn’t entirely intentional, I’ll be honest. I wasn’t lying when I said I was just going on a walk throughout the stadium, but I heard shouting from the prep lobby and thought I’d pop in to take a look. I had no idea what I’d hear…” he cleared his throat quickly to avoid Gloria time to respond to his confession, “Point is, there was something Hop said that stuck out to me.

“It was at the end—something I wasn’t aware of. Is it really true that you tried to ‘win the league’ for him?”

The breeze around them suddenly became very cold.

“That’s… ” she swallowed, then shook her head, “Perhaps, but—even still. I’m sure he would’ve forgiven me for that by now—there’s no way. Not after everything we’ve done together—he means the world to me…” her lips pursed as she bit back the surfacing tears in her eyes.

 _He means the world to her?_ Bede glanced down at grass to think for a moment, _But if that’s the case, why is Hop acting so stubborn? Something tells me that Gloria must’ve accidentally done something to Hop without her knowing about it…_ he glanced back at Gloria to check if she was still alright.

She was shaking. Her arms were quivering in her lap, and her thumbs were rubbing together in tiny circles. As he watched her eyes, he swore for a moment he could see himself staring back at him. He knew that look—that face of concerned betrayal. That face which he’d made only about three separate times—times where he, when he trusted someone the most, lost everything. Rose was one of those three who’d betrayed him.

 _“he means the world to me…” that’s what she said, but how much is “the world?” Could it be that she—_ his eyes softened, _Oh I think it’s starting to come together now. Gloria… you made a mistake._

“So Hop is precious to you.”

She hesitated, “Y-yes…”

“And, according what Hop said, you joined the league _just_ to ensure him his place as champion, right?”

“What?” she stiffened, “Hop didn’t say it like that—”

“If I remember, you and I exchanged league cards a long time ago back at the Galar Mines. I read the back, and I think it said something about you wanting to take down Hop’s enemies or something. I remember it specifically because it was an odd thing to wish for.”

Her mouth closed, and she took a moment to think before speaking again, “But all I wanted was to help him… I mean—I didn’t even really want to be the champion you know?”

“You didn’t, huh?” Bede let out a long sigh as his concerns confirmed themselves.

_That’s where the problem is, Gloria._

He closed his eyes, “You’re an idiot, Gloria.”

The silence returned again, more haunting than ever as she blinked at him.

“What do you—”

“Can I ask you something?” he cut in suddenly, his eyes darkening, “Something a little personal?”

She hesitated, her voice trembling, “I-it depends on what you’re asking…”

“I have one last question before I explain myself. Tell me, Gloria. Has there been a time in your life where you lost someone important to you? Or had someone betray you?”

Her eyes flew open immediately. As she began to speak, he could see her lower jaw trembling in horror.

“How do you know about that?”

The words cut through him like a serrated knife. The truth was, he _didn’t_ know—it was a wild guess based on his own experience. But how could he explain that without revealing his _own_ pain? The answer was short: he couldn’t.

He swallowed his reluctance, and explained everything.

“I didn’t. It was a guess based on personal experience,” he paused, “Here’s the thing, Gloria. Hop’s not mad because you became champion. He’s mad because of _why_ you did it. You keep saying that he means the world to you—that you’d go as far as ensuring him a place as champion, if it came to it. But you never took into account what _he_ wanted.

“You said you thought you had feelings for him, but tell me: when you’re around him, how does it feel? Are you jittery or nervous? Have you had the occasional…” he paused, “intrusive thought?”

Her face flushed upon hearing his words, “I… what does that have to do with anything?”

“Just answer me.”

“Well…” she shook her head, “admittedly, no. We’re comfortable around each other.”

“That’s what I thought. So then, may I question, are your feelings legitimate? Is it possible you simply hold him in high regard?”

Her eyes fluttered, and he took that as a yes.

“In other words, Hop is your treasure. I’m going to assume you lost something or someone important to you in the past, and thus you’re willing to do whatever it takes so that it doesn’t happen again,” he leaned forward closer to her, “You wanted to make sure he was happy, so you decided to join the league to take down any trainers that were too strong—but you weren’t anticipating overwhelming him.

“You unintentionally became the queen of Galar, and you know it—and I think he does too. Hop’s not the kind of person to just casually accept a win, he’s the type who wants to work hard to succeed. Knowing you were dedicating yourself to helping him must’ve been frustrating. After all, how could he see you as a rival when you were only in it for him?”

“That’s not—”

“Listen Gloria. I don’t know what happened to you, and I can’t even say for sure if I’m right. But I know this: it’s _wrong_ to live your life through someone else. It’s unfair to them because you’re piling on expectations, and forcing them to meet them without a say.

“But it’s also not fair to _yourself_ either because you’re unhealthily basing your decisions off of someone that isn’t you. Now that Hop’s gone, the first thing you did was find me because you needed your precious treasure back, isn’t that right?”

“Bede hold on—STOP—”

He stood up suddenly, his eyes widening.

“I made the same mistake you know. Look what happened to me and Rose—I put my faith in him, I promised I’d do anything for him as long as he kept me around. After losing my best friend, whom left me all alone in the orphanage to pursue a foolish flicker of hope, I had no one left. I thought Rose would refill the hole my friend had left, but look at what happened to me! I got kicked aside—forgotten in an instant as soon as I slipped up. The moment I became a nuisance, I was discarded like rubbish!”

His palms gripped into fists as Gloria got to her feet.

“You don’t have feelings for him, you’re just scared of losing him like you are right no—”

A sudden blow to his left cheek cut him off before he could finish. He let out a cry of shock and placed a quaking hand over the left side of his face. For a moment, the world was spinning and his ears were ringing a high-pitched screech through his head. When he focused again, he saw Gloria’s right hand hovering open over her left shoulder, knuckles facing his direction, and her eyes wide with silent hatred.

_Did she just… slap me?_

“SHUT-UP!” she yelled, “You just kept going on and on without letting me talk—” her voice broke, and suddenly tears began to spill out of her eyes, “You stupid, stupid—”

Immense guilt struck through his body like liquid fire. He’d gone too far—made it too personal.

Yet as he opened his mouth to speak, she suddenly rushed forward and squeezed her arms around his stomach. He stammered, stunned she’d gone from screaming at him to hugging him, but her words interrupted his floundering.

“I’m so mad at you…” she wept fiercely, “but at the same time I’m so glad.”

_What?_

“I wonder… are you still a psychic trainer after all? Because you just spilled everything out of me somehow. All my thoughts, all my internal sufferings were bled out of your mouth—everything I never had the strength to admit…” her arms tightened, pressing firmly into his ribs, “N-no one’s ever said something so mean to me before. I hate you so much Bede, but yet I don’t.”

His gaze softened, and he brought his arms down to his sides.

She choked, tilting her head up so her chin could rest below his shoulder, “C-can I have a moment?”

He paused, noticing a tear roll down her cheek, and let out a soft sigh, “Go ahead.”

He wasn’t comfortable having her so close to him. Bede had always been a bit of a touch-aphobe, so having Gloria bury her face in his shoulder with her hands balled around his back gave him a bit of anxiety. But, knowing it was his fault for spouting off at her, he let her cry for as long as she needed—though he didn’t have the strength to hug her back.

When she was finished, she pushed herself away from him an arm’s distance, and stared down at the grass.

“Goodness I needed that…” she mumbled, trying hard to force a laugh.

He didn’t reply.

“I really am mad at you for saying all that mean stuff about me,” she mumbled on, “but at the same time, I think I needed to hear it—to make sure what happened between me and Hop doesn’t happen again.”

He huffed, “Don’t be so foolish… I was just projecting myself onto you. It was cruel of me to assume we had the same experience—I shouldn’t have scolded you like that…” he paused, “But wow—that really hurt…”

He brought his left hand back to his cheek to massage where a red imprint of Gloria’s palm was now appearing. She winced at it, noticing its vivid color, and timidly bowed to him.

“Aah—I’m so sorry about that, I hit you harder than I was intending to…”

“Don’t apologize,” he grunted, “I deserved it anyway.”

Unsatisfied, she puffed her cheeks at him as he continued to rub his face, “Y-you can hit me back if you want…”

He blinked at her in surprise and rose his left eyebrow, “I can what?”

“It’s just—I was a real idiot for putting so much of my care into Hop, you know? And then I slapped you in the face when you were just trying to wake me up—I deserve to get hit too!”

It was disturbing (to say the least) to witness the glow in her eyes as she begged for his retaliation.

“What—no! I’m not hitting you, don’t be ridiculous! What would people say if they saw me smacking you!?”

“No one’s looking, just do it!” she shouted, closing her eyes to brace for the impact.

“But—”

“Do it!”

_What the actual heck???_

He scowled angrily as she waited for impact, but there was nothing he could do to stop her.

_I swear if this is some sort of weird fetish—_

Then he sighed, raised his arm, and readied to impact the side of her face.

_Why…_

He hesitated, his hand unmoving in the air.

_This is ridiculous…_

Then he sighed again.

_I can’t do it. I’m not a monster, after all…_

But realizing she wasn’t going to move, he glanced at his hand, lowered it, and just flicked her in the center of her forehead.

“Ow!” she shouted, a little surprised at the lack of surface area in his tap, “You just flicked me?”

“Happy?” he grunted.

She sighed, then nodded, “Well at least you care enough about me to not hurt me.”

“Can’t say the same for _you_ though, Miss.”

Annoyed her tease had been turned back on her, she plopped back down on the grass and stared back at the people in the fishing tournament.

“Thanks again, Bede. I don’t know what made you invite me out here, but I’m glad I could finally have this conversation with someone.”

He nodded, joining her on the grass, “I bet. But you know… this is all speculation. Hop’s smart, but not wise in the _social_ aspect, so there’s a chance he’s not angry in the way I presumed he is. Knowing him, he’s likely just being stubborn. If it were me though, well… you heard my rant back there.”

“I certainly did,” she smiled faintly, “I’m glad I’m not on your bad side anymore.”

As she said this, he remembered how she’d slapped him and yelled at him only a few seconds ago.

 _And I’m_ really _glad I’m not on yours…_

* * *

They continued to watch the fishing tournament until the sun started going down. Once people started to go home, Bede and Gloria hiked down from the incline of the Giant’s seat, and took out their fishing rods. Watching people reel in fish all day made them want to catch some of their own on Lake Miloch, so they cast their lines out across the water, and took a seat in the grass.

“It’s getting dark, but I hear that’s the best time to go fishing.”

“It is?” Gloria asked.

Bede nodded, “Only issue is getting home at a decent hour—but I suppose since it’s still early spring, that shouldn’t be too difficult. It’s barely eight, and the sun’s already falling.”

As they stared out at the quiet lake, Bede and Gloria listened to the calm cries of the nocturnal Pokémon waking up. They could hear the distant hoo-ing of Noctowl, and the soft baying of Vulpix and Linoone off in the distance. The world became a sudden choir of nighttime Pokémon as the sun dipped beneath the mountains of the Wild Area.

Bede stared down at the rod in his hands as they sat still in the grass.

 _As much as I love the atmosphere, if we stay out much longer the air could drop below freezing,_ he realized, _We’ve been here for a while as it is. I wonder if I should let Gloria know…_

When he turned to look at her, he saw her sitting with her arms wrapped around her shins, and her jaw quivering on top of her knees. He could tell she must not’ve grabbed a warm enough coat because of how much she was shivering.

“Cold?”

She looked up at him, “Huh? Me?”

“Who else am I talking to?”

She paused for a moment, tugging at the sleeve of her jacket, “The temperature sure dropped out here, if that’s what you mean. But I can’t accept your coat if you’re offering it.”

He raised an eyebrow, “I never said I would. Otherwise _I’d_ be left cold, too.”

A smile spread across her face, and she laughed for a brief second.

“I forget how incredibly un-chivalrous you are when it’s just the two of us. Seems like you treat your fans better than your friends sometimes.”

“Well I’m hoping the reason you’re my friend is because you can appreciate my _real_ personality,” he quipped back, “I can’t accept someone who only values my stage-only, charismatic shtick.”

“Oh? So you consider me a friend now?” she suddenly leaned forward, eyes glittering.

He huffed, leaning away from her as she teased him again, “Is that all you got from what I said? Goodness you’re desperate…”

Giggling like a silly schoolgirl, she returned to her normal position and stared back out at the lake. Just as she did so, the bobber of her fishing pole suddenly dipped below the water and the line began to tighten.

“Woah! I’ve got something!”

Bede and Gloria stood up as she started to reel in the fish.

“It’s big—that’s for sure!”

“Serious?” he took a step closer to her as she struggled with the fishing line, “Need me to help you reel it in?”

She shook her head, “I’ve got it—don’t worry!”

After another minute of tugging and pulling at the fishing pole, Gloria finally managed to yank out the fish sitting on the other end of her line. When it was flopping at their feet, they were disappointed to find it was just a large Magikarp.

“Dang… you made it seem like it was something really cool,” Bede sighed, beginning to reel in his untouched fishing line.

“Oh come on! This _is_ a big fish, isn’t it?”

“But it’s a Magikarp…”

She puffed out her left cheek in annoyance, “At least I actually _got_ something.”

He paused, realizing she was right, “Yeah, but still…”

As they put away their fishing rods, Bede and Gloria arranged for a Corviknight taxi to come pick them up. As Bede pointed out, the temperature was getting too cold to stay outside much longer, and both of them were starting to shiver in the chilly breeze.

“S-sure I can’t borrow your coat?” Gloria asked, her pleading eyes bearing into Bede as she begged.

“That would leave me freezing!” he defended, hiking up the collar of his coat, “I hate the cold j-just as much as you do!”

She pouted again, “Are you warm then?”

He paused, glancing at her, “No—are you kidding?”

Without asking, Gloria suddenly brought up her hands and placed both of them palm-side down onto Bede’s cheeks, sending a rush of searing cold across his face. He started screaming instantly.

“Augh! S-stop that! You’re so bloody cold!”

“I’m not stopping until I can share your coat—I’m dying over here!”

“Serves you right for not bringing a jacket you foolish fiend!” he clasped his hands over her cheeks as well, causing her to scream in the same way he had, “Have a taste of your _own_ medicine!”

For a moment they both just yelled and insulted each other, neither one of them willing to remove their ice-cold hands from one another’s faces. After a massive gust of icy wind pushed past them, however, they finally gave up and ended up sharing Bede’s coat. Figuring no one was around to witness them anyway, Bede’s pride was overwhelmed by his desire to find warmth, and allowed Gloria to envelop herself in the interior of Bede’s jacket as well as his personal body heat.

They remained side-by side as a pair of shivering idiots the entire time until the taxi arrived.

When it showed up, they let out sighs of relief and threw themselves into the cabin of the cab.

“Cold, cold, cold, cold—” Gloria repeated until she was seated inside with her jacket zipped around her knees like a cocoon.

“Geez…” Bede mumbled, sitting down next to her as he zipped his coat back up and blew on his frosty hands, “Since when did the Wild Area get so cold?”

“I know, right?” she whined, cranking up the heater, “The weather can change on a dime when you’re out there… I swear it might’ve started snowing if we stayed any longer.”

Bede glanced up at the clear sky, “No… there’s no clouds. In fact, the _lack_ of clouds is probably why it was so cold in the first place.”

Once the Corviknight took off, the temperature of the cabin finally started to heat back up again, bringing with it Bede’s senses. He recalled how they’d shivered shoulder-to-shoulder in the frozen air only minutes ago, and suddenly found his heartbeat skipping. Though too cold to appreciate it at the time, her warmth had been a nice sensation.

Suddenly her words came back to mind: _“there’s someone I like.”_

He almost forgot she’d announced the person was Hop, and for a moment was again concerned she had feelings for _him._

 _Why do I keep thinking about that?_ he scolded himself, tearing his eyes away from Gloria to stare out at the horizon, _Lately I keep questioning that, when there’s not a shred of evidence she has feelings for me. And besides—why should I even care if she does? It’s not like anything good can come out of having a relationship with her._

He stole a glance at her. She was turned away towards the window with her long hair tucked behind her ear. From the few centimeters away, he could see her eyelashes as they blinked at the distant mountains. Her cheeks were still red and rosy from the cold, and her lips were chapped and bare—unusual for once, that she wasn’t wearing lipstick.

 _She’s not wearing any make-up today…_ he noticed, _I wonder if that means she feels comfortable around me. I can’t see why that would be the case—we’re barely friends. But…_

How did she manage to be pretty no matter how much or how little make-up she had on? She was only objectively pretty, of course—Bede insisted he never had a preference. But it was still a marvel how she managed to make even _his_ heart skip, when it never skipped for anyone else before.

The thought came to him: _Is a relationship actually that far-fetched?_

Gloria raised an eyebrow, “What’re you staring at me for?”

He blinked, realizing he was staring off into space at her, “I dunno,” he shrugged simply, turning back to the window, “You’ve got dirt on your face.”

She blinked and quickly withdrew a pocket-sized mirror from her backpack, “Wait—I do!?” as she observed her face however, she realized he was just messing with her, “You liar!”

He grinned smugly to himself as she proceeded to jab him in the shoulder.

 _Yeah… I think a relationship’s too much. I admit she’s cute, but I’m not interested. After all…_ he glanced one last time at her before leaning his head back to rest, _I like what we have right now. Having a friend is good enough for me._


End file.
